A、Broccoli is not the alternative of metformin. B、Pills are still the only choice of treating diabetes. C、Just eating broccoli i

Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease on the rise around the world. And, not everyone can take the medication that treats it. However, researchers have discovered that a compound found in a common vegetable might help treat diabetes. In 2016, the World Health Organization published its Global Report on Diabetes. It says the number of diabetic adults rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Diabetes happens in two ways. If the body does not produce enough of a hormone called insulin, it is called type1. Type 2 diabetes is when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin controls levels of sugar in the blood. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks and stroke. It can lead to an early death. India is one of the countries that could be facing a public health crisis as cases of diabetes increase. Amit Jain is a children’s doctor in that country. He says obesity is one of the main reasons people get type 2 diabetes. However, children who are not obese can also get diabetes. About 300 million people around the world have type 2 diabetes. A large percentage of these people cannot take a drug used to treat this disease. The drug metformin is a first-line therapy. This means it is often the first drug doctors give their patients. However, the drug side effects. It can damage the kidneys and upset the stomach. Enter broccoli. This vegetable has a chemical compound called sulforaphane. And in testing, this compound appears to work as well as the drug metformin at reducing blood sugar levels in diabetics. Anders Rosengren, a doctor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, led the study. “We think this is very exciting because there have been so many claims over the years of different foods, dietary components having different health effects. But here, we have really scientifically-based proof that it has an effect on type 2 diabetes. ” But do not think that just eating broccoli is enough to prevent or treat diabetes. You would have to eat about five kilograms every day to get enough sulforaphane. The study patients got a pill containing a concentrated form of the broccoli compound. It is about 100 times stronger than the amount found in broccoli. But, for diabetics who hate broccoli, that could be welcome news.
    Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
    16. What does the speaker say about insulin?
    17. What are the side effects of the current first-line therapy of type 2 diabetes?
    18. What does the speaker warn diabetics about at the end of this passage?